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Words

old

Far advanced in the years of one’s or its life

Origin:
before 900; Middle English; Old English, Gothic altheis; akin to Old Norse ala to nourish

Synonyms
1. Old, aged, elderly all mean well along in years. An old person has lived long, nearly to the end of the usual period of life. An aged person is very far advanced in years, and is usually afflicted with the infirmities of age. An elderly person is somewhat old, but usually has the mellowness, satisfactions, and joys of age ahead. 9. olden, early.

From W.Gmc. *althas “grown up, adult, stem of a verb meaning “grow, nourish“, “make grow, strengthen,” “to get well,” “to feed, nourish, bring up, increase,” “high,” lit. “grown tall,” “nurturing, nourishing,” “fosterling, step-child;””I nourish”)The good old days dates from 1828. Of old “of old times” is from late 14c. Old Glory for “the American flag” is first attested 1862.

Old maid “woman who remains single well beyond the usual marrying age” is from 1520s; the card game is attested by that name from 1844.

Old man “husband, father, boss” is from 1854, earlier (1830) military slang for “commanding officer;”

early 13c., from L. medicina, originally ars medicina “the medical art,” from fem. of medicinus (adj.) “of a doctor,” from medicus “a physician” (see medical). Figurative use from c.1200. To take (one’s) medicine “submit to something disagreeable” is first recorded 1865.

N.Amer. Indian medicine-man “shaman” is first attested 1801, from Amer. Indian adoption of the word medicine in sense of “magical influence.”

The U.S.-Canadian boundary they called Medicine Line (first attested 1910), because it conferred a kind of magic protection: punishment for crimes committed on one side of it could be avoided by crossing over to the other. Medicine show “traveling show meant to attract a crowd so patent medicine can be sold to them” is Amer.Eng., 1938. Medicine ball “stuffed leather ball used for exercise” is from 1889.

spa“medicinal or mineral spring,” 1620s, from name of health resort in eastern Belgium, known since 14c., that featured mineral springs believed to have curative properties. The place name is from Walloon espa “spring, fountain.”

ipecac1710, borrowing via Portuguese of a shortened form of Tupi ipecacuana a medicinal plant of Brazil. The Indian word is said to mean “small plant causing vomit.”

concoction1530s, “digestion,” stem of concoquere (see concoct). Meaning “preparation of a medicinal potion” is from 1851; sense of “a made-up story” is from 1823.

chemist1560s, chymist, “alchemist,” from Fr. chimiste, from Mod.L. chimista, reduced from alchimista (see alchemy). Modern spelling is from c.1790. Meaning “chemical scientist” is from 1620s; meaning “dealer in medicinal drugs” (mostly in England) is from 1745.

hellebore from Gk. helleboros, perhaps meaning “plant eaten by fawns,” from Gk. ellos/hellos “fawn” + bora “food of beasts,” from bibroskein “to eat,” from PIE base *gwere- “to swallow.” Among the ancients, the name given to various plants of both poisonous and medicinal qualities, reputed to cure madness.

gum (v.)early 14c., gommen, “treat with (medicinal or aromatic) gums,” from gum (n.1). In the transferred or figurative sense of “spoil, ruin” (usually with up), it is first recorded 1901, probably from the notion of machinery becoming clogged. Of infants, etc., “to chew or gnaw (something) with the gums,” by 1907, from gum (n.2). Related: Gummed; gumming.

gum (n.1)“resin,” c.1300, from O.Fr. gome “(medicinal) gum, resin,” from L.L. gumma, from L. gummi, from Gk. kommi “gum,” from Egyptian kemai. As a shortened form of chewing gum, first attested 1842 in Amer.Eng. The gum tree (1670s) was so called for the resin it exudes.

pimpernelc.1400, from O.Fr. pimprenelle, earlier piprenelle (12c.), from M.L. pipinella “a medicinal plant,” perhaps from *piperinus “pepper-like” (so called because its fruits resemble peppercorns), a derivative of L. piper “pepper” (see pepper). The Scarlet Pimpernel was the code name of the hero in an adventure novel of that name published 1905.

centaurysmall plant with red flowers (now usually erythraea Centaureum), late 14c., from M.L. centaurea, from L. centaureum, from Gk. kentaureion, from kentauros “centaur” (see centaur), so called according to Pliny because the plant’s medicinal properties were discovered by Chiron the centaur. Ger. Tausendgüldenkraut is based on a mistranslation of the Latin word, as if from centum + aurum (which itself might be a bit of Roman folk etymology).

carrot1530s, from M.Fr. carrotte, from L. carota, from Gk. karoton “carrot,” from PIE *kre-, from base *ker- “horn, head,” so called for its horn-like shape. Originally white-rooted and a medicinal plant to the ancients, who used it as an aphrodisiac and to prevent poisoning. Not entirely distinguished from parsnips in ancient times. Reintroduced in Europe by Arabs c.1100. The orange carrot, perhaps as early as 6c., probably began as a mutation of the Asian purple carrot and was cultivated into the modern edible plant 16c.-17c. in the Netherlands. Planted as a garden vegetable by 1609 by Jamestown colonists.

fumigationlate 14c., “make aromatic smoke as part of a ceremony,” from O.Fr. fumigation, from L. fumigationem (nom. fumigatio) “a smoking,” noun of action from pp. stem of fumigare “to smoke,” from fumus “smoke, fume” (see fume) + root of agere “to drive” (see act). Sense of “exposure (of someone or something) to aromatic fumes” is c.1400, originally as a medicinal or therapeutic treatment.

treaclemid-14c., “medicinal compound, antidote for poison,” from O.Fr. triacle “antidote” (c.1200), from V.L. *triacula, from L. theriaca, from Gk. theriake (antidotos) “antidote for poisonous wild animals,” from fem. of theriakos “of a wild animal,” from therion “wild animal,” dim. of ther (gen. theros) “wild animal,” from PIE base *ghwer- “wild” (see fierce). Sense of “molasses” is first recorded 1690s; that of “anything too sweet or sentimental” is from 1771. The connection may be from the use of molasses as a laxative, or its use to disguise the bad taste of medicine.

plaster (n.)O.E. plaster “medicinal application,” from V.L. plastrum, shortened from L. emplastra “a plaster” (in the medical as well as the building sense), from Gk. emplastron “salve, plaster” (used by Galen instead of more usual emplaston), from neut. of emplastos “daubed on,” from en- “on” + plastos “molded,” from plassein “to mold” (see plasma). The building sense is first recorded in English c.1300, via O.Fr. plastre. Meaning “to bomb (a target) heavily” is first recorded 1915. Plaster of Paris (mid-15c.) originally was made from the extensive gypsum deposits of Montmartre in Paris.anointc.1300 (implied in anointing), from O.Fr. enoint “smeared on,” pp. of enoindre “smear on,” from L. inunguere “to anoint,” from in- “on” + unguere “to smear” (see unguent). Originally in reference to grease or oil smeared on for medicinal purposes; its use in the Coverdale Bible in reference to Christ (cf. The Lord’s Anointed, see chrism) has spiritualized the word. Related: Anointed; anointing.

sperm whale 1830, shortening of spermaceti whale (so called because the waxy substance in its head was mistaken for sperm), from spermaceti (1471), from M.L. sperma ceti “sperm of a whale,” from L. sperma (see sperm) + cetus “large sea animal” (see Cetacea). The substance in olden times was credited with medicinal properties, as well as being used for candle oil.

tobacco 1580s, from Sp. tabaco, in part from an Arawakan (probably Taino) language of the Caribbean, said to mean “a roll of tobacco leaves” (according to Las Casas, 1552) or “a kind of pipe for smoking tobacco” (according to Oviedo, 1535). Scholars of Caribbean languages lean toward Las Casas’ explanation. But Sp. tabaco (also It. tabacco) was a name of medicinal herbs from early 15c., from Arabic tabbaq, attested since 9c. as the name of various herbs. So the word may be a European one transferred to an American plant. Cultivation in France began 1556 with an importation of seed by Andre Thevet; introduced in Spain 1558 by Francisco Fernandes. Tobacco Road as a mythical place representative of rural Southern U.S. poverty is from the title of Erskine Caldwell’s 1932 novel.

witchO.E. wicce “female magician, sorceress,” in later use especially “a woman supposed to have dealings with the devil or evil spirits and to be able by their cooperation to perform supernatural acts,” fem. of O.E. wicca “sorcerer, wizard, man who practices witchcraft or magic,” from verb wiccian “to practice witchcraft” (cf. Low Ger. wikken, wicken “to use witchcraft,” wikker, wicker “soothsayer”). OED says of uncertain origin; Liberman says “None of the proposed etymologies of witch is free from phonetic or semantic difficulties.” Klein suggests connection with O.E. wigle “divination,” and wig, wih “idol.” Watkins says the nouns represent a P.Gmc. *wikkjaz “necromancer” (one who wakes the dead), from PIE *weg-yo-, from *weg- “to be strong, be lively.” That wicce once had a more specific sense than the later general one of “female magician, sorceress” perhaps is suggested by the presence of other words in O.E. describing more specific kinds of magical craft. In the Laws of Ælfred (c.890), witchcraft was specifically singled out as a woman’s craft, whose practitioners were not to be suffered to live among the W. Saxons:

The other two words combined with it here are gealdricge, a woman who practices “incantations,” and scinlæce “female wizard, woman magician,” from a root meaning “phantom, evil spirit.” Another word that appears in the Anglo-Saxon laws is lyblæca “wizard, sorcerer,” but with suggestions of skill in the use of drugs, since the root of the word is lybb “drug, poison, charm.” Lybbestre was a fem. word meaning “sorceress,” and lybcorn was the name of a certain medicinal seed (perhaps wild saffron). – (A flowers Stamen) –

The glossary translates L. necromantia (“demonum invocatio”) with galdre, wiccecræft. The Anglo-Saxon poem called “Men’s Crafts” has wiccræft, which appears to be the same word, and by its context means “skill with horses.”

In a c.1250 translation of “Exodus,” witches is used of the Egyptian midwives who save the newborn sons of the Hebrews: “Ðe wicches hidden hem for-ðan, Biforen pharaun nolden he ben.”

Witch in ref. to a man survived in dialect into 20c., but the fem. form was so dominant by 1601 that men-witches or he-witch began to be used. Extended sense of “young woman or girl of bewitching aspect or manners” is first recorded 1740. Witch doctor is from 1718; applied to African magicians from 1836.

At this day it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, ‘she is a witch,’ or ‘she is a wise woman.’ [Reginald Scot, “The Discoverie of Witchcraft,” 1584

In many Germanic languages “poison” is euphemistically named by a word equivalent to English gift (cf. O.H.G. gift, Dan., Swed. gift; Du. gift, vergift). This choice might have been aided by Gk. dosis “a portion prescribed,” lit. “a giving,” used by Galen and other Greek physicians to mean an amount of medicine (see dose).